Present mass media advertising models assign particular areas of interest to certain classes of consumers based on available demographic information. From this starting point mechanisms are developed to deliver the advertising content to as many potential consumers as possible whether:                Over the air (radio stations);        Via television (television networks);        Via cable and/or satellite transmission; or by        Mass distribution of printed copies (newspapers and magazines)        
The main drawback with this approach is the lack of commercial efficiency in the existing models. Without reliable profiling demographic data on audiences and/or subscribers, individualisation and personalised targeting remains a tough challenge for the whole advertising industry. A too narrowly focused advertising campaign runs the risk of missing potential consumers and a too broadly focused campaign runs the risk of not attracting enough consumers as it may not be appealing enough.
Advertisers have always attempted to use targeting methodologies—direct mailing is one obvious example—to better identify and reach potential prospects or specific classification groups of purchasers. This has always been difficult in television where the underlying premise of broadcasting—one to many—has always prevailed. The attempts to match viewers to advertised products rely on assumptions about stereotypes rather than specific analysis and interpretations of individual consumer viewing patterns.
This absence of accurate prospect profiling data particularly in the TV medium means that identifying leveraging and retaining product responsive television audiences remains a largely unachieved priority for the advertising industry. This dilemma for television is made even more significant by advances in technology that increase the overall number of channel mix options available to the advertising campaign strategist i.e. message delivery at the touch of a button direct to a mobile phone.
Individuals at home, work or on the move now come into contact with an ever expanding number of different forms of mass media. Recent additions to the established and traditional options include:                Broadband;        Digital television;        Digital radio;        Webcasting;        Internet audio streams; and        Internet video streams.        
The problem therefore is that:                Advertisers globally would prefer to accurately target individual consumers based on an improved understanding of their propensity to purchase particular types of product and in order to maximise the overall effectiveness of their industry;        Consumers would prefer to receive advertisements relating to products of personal interest rather than campaigns which have no relevance.        At present there is no way of electronically matching the viewer to the playout material;        Broadcasters need to capture accurate programme ratings and channel market share data since this forms a valuable currency for their industry. At present there is neither net-centric nor automated option for carrying out this type of measurement.        
An objective of the present invention is to provide a system which addresses these problems.